Carsten Becker

Works - RAL

Conceptual artwork RAL by German artist Carsten Becker who lives and works in Berlin, Germany.

RAL

Utility objects do not come by their colors randomly, they are chosen according to standards. In Germany, the RAL standard sets the norm, a collection of colors that meets the requirements of public authorities, the military and industry. In his work, artist Carsten Becker is concerned with the gaps and continuities in this collection. It displays a microcosm of German history.

Becker’s triptychs tell a story, but in abstract fashion: They gather monochrome panels of RAL colors, most of which are thematically connected. The coating varnish of the Messerschmitt BF 109, for instance: light blue underneath, so as to be camouflaged against the sky, green grey on top to merge with the ground. The nose of the fighter jet is painted yellow – a striking colour used to identify friend or foe. These three colors form a triptych. Or the three colors of the Reichsbahn: Violet for the luxury waggons, flame red for the wheels and red brown for the box waggons. RAL 8012, the varnish used on the box waggons in which people were transported to concentration camps, bears witness to the Shoa. A waggon of this kind can still be seen today at the holocaust memorial of Yad Vashem.